Railway car mover



May 4, 1954 w. H. F. MlEHE RAILWAY CAR MOVER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 6, 1951 INVENTOR. W/L L IAMHFM/EWE ATTO/VS y 4, 1954 w. H. F. MIEHE 2,677,527

RAILWAY CAR MOVEIR Filed Feb. 6, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. WILL lAM/ifM/EHE y 4, 1954 w. H. F. MIEHE 2,677,527

RAILWAY CAR MOVER Filed Feb. 6, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 A TTOR/VEYS Patented May 4, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in railway car mover. More particularly, the invention constitutes an improvement on my patent, No. 1,994,530, issued March 19,

for Power Car Mover.

One of the important features of the invention is the fact that the effective stroke of the shoe which delivers the power to the railway car wheel may be adjusted, thereby providing the desired power suitable for the load condition of the car being moved.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of means whereby said shoe is so connected to the mechanism transmitting power to said shoe that it may adapt itself to the contour of the wheel being moved, thereby avoiding point con tact which mi ht result in damage, and affording the advantage of full contact of the shoe with the surface being moved.

Still another feature of this invention is the oElGhEd. to the car mover so that the devic may readily transported from one location to the other.

*nother advantage of the instant invention is the act that it may readily be adapted for use as a jack, in that a substantially vertical power stroke is provided and the operator may insert shims under the object being. raised after each stroke. The device may thus be employed as a jack: for raising houses and the like.

Still another advantage of the invention is the incorporation of a reel thereon for the electric lead wire supplying electricity for the motor L ing the device. It will be understood, how 92161 that any other prime mover may be substituted for the electric motor if desired.

Further objects of the present invention will hecome apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying d awings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the ser ral views.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the device as used to move a standard car wheel along a rail.

2 is a top plan partially broken away section.

3 is a vertical section taken substantially along the line 3--$ of Fig. 2.

4 is a vertical section taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The instant invention is a convenient, portable device for moving railway cars along rails in order to position said cars adjacent convenient the operator to control the car mover.

loading platforms and the like. The device operates by imparting a relatively short, substantially vertically upward stroke to the underside of a railway car wheel, thereby rolling the same. Accordingly, in the accompanying drawings reference numeral l9 represents a. standard railway car wheel on a standard rail H. The instant device is contained in and about a casing 52 having a fiat undersurf'ace i3 which sets upon the rail head. A portion of casing [2, indicated by reference numeral M, is arcuate in contour, having the same radius of curvature as wheel it. As shown, particularly in Fig. l, the device thereby is shaped so as to fit under the rear of a wheel to move between the wheel and the rail. A serrated block it is fixed to the underside of the surface it, the function of said block being to grip rail ii so that as force is imparted to wheel H3, casing i2 is stationary and the car is pushed forward rather than the mover being pushed rearwarolly.

An upwardly and rearwardly extending handle ii is attached to casing l2, said handle being of a height so that it may be used conveniently by A reel 13 is rotatably fixed to said handle, said reel functioning to contain and wind an electric cord 23 which furnishes electric power for the operation of motor l5 attached to casing i2. A switch it is attached to handle ll so that the electric current may be turned off and. on. will be understood that electric plug 22 is connected to a convenient outlet box and that the electric cord 25-! is unwound as the device is moved. Upon disconnection of the plug 22 from said outlet box, cord 23 is wound within reel is by action of a spring (not shown).

In order to transport the device from one lo cation to another, a pair of wheels 25 is provided on either side of the device. Said wheels are mounted on spindles 2'. which are journaled in rearwardly extending yokes 2B. Said. yokes 23 are fixed for rotation with transverse shaft 22 and to said shaft is fixed one end. of lever 3!, the opposite end. of which is pivotally connected to the lower end of link 33 extending upwardly generally parallel to handle H. The upper end 01" link 33 is in turn pivetally connected to wheel control lever Eli intermediate to ends thereof. The inner end of lever 33 is pivotally connected to handle I? and the opposite end is provided with a hand grip 36. Thus, as shown particularly in Fig. 1, wheels 25 may be elevated so that the casing surface it and block I 8 engage rail H. When it is desired to move the device to a new location, the operator pulls grip 3B upwardly to the dotted position shown in Fig. 1 thereby pulling link 33 upward, pivoting link 3| upwardly causing rotation of shaft 29 thereby depressing yekes 28 to the dotted position shown in Fig. 1 simultaneously lowering wheels 25 to said position. It will thus be seen that the operator may then push or pull the device to any location by moving handle IT.

The propulsive force is imparted to said wheel I!) by shoe 4|, said shoe being caused to move against the undersurface of said wheel 58 through an opening 42 in casing l2. The surface of shoe 4| engaging wheel is arcuate in configuration, having the same radius of curvature as wheel l0 and thus being engageable with the wheel is over a wide surface area. Further to improve the contact between shoe 4| and wheel [0, a flexible mounting is established between said shoe 4| and lever 43 which moves said shoe. Said flexible mounting is maintained by reason of the fact that the anterior end of lever 43 is formed in a ball 44 which fits into a semi-spheroidal socket 46 on the inner side of shoe 4|. Screw 4? connects shoe 4| to ball 44, said screw 47 being received in a tapped hole in ball 44. In order to permit movement of shoe 4| relative to lever 43, the hole 48 in shoe 4| through which screw 4"? passes is machined large so as to permit sufiicient movement of shoe 4| relative to screw 4'! so that shoe 4| may adjust itself to the configuration of wheel II] or other object being moved. It will be seen particularly with reference to Figs. 3 and 4 that shoe 4| may adjust itself freely within the limits of the excess diameter of hole 43 without impairing the movement imparted to shoe 4| by lever 43.

As shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 4 lever 43 receives a rocking movement. Thus an arcuate fulcrum is formed in lever 43 adjacent ball 44 and said fulcum 5| is received in cradle bearing 52 mounted in casing I2. Said cradle bearing 52, which is concave and of a spheroidal segment configuration is held in place by screws 53 so that bearing 52 may be replaced when worn. It will be seen that the projection of the line of force from shoe 4| passing through bearing 42 intersects block I 6 and thus as force is transmitted to wheel H), a reaction force is imparted to block IS, the serrations of which tend to dig into the surface of rail H and hold the device in place.

The end of lever 43 remote from fulcrum 44 is caused to rock about said cradle bearing 52 by reason of force transmitted thereto from motor I9 through gearing and linkages hereinafter described. In Fig. 3 shoe 4| is shown retracted within casing 2, or, in other words, shoe 4| is at the inner end of its stroke. In Fig. 4 shoe 4| is shown projected through the opening 42 in casing l2 at the outer end of its stroke. The difference in position of lever 43 at the two positions of its stroke is thus emphasized by said Figs. 3 and 4.

One means whereby the end 54 of lever 43 is caused to rock will next be described, it being understood that any proper gearing. crankshaft, and connecting rod arrangement may be employed. Motor shaft 56 is received within bearings 5! and 58 in casing I2 and said shaft 56 is provided with a worm 59 meshing with worm wheel 6| mounted on worm wheel shaft 62 extending transversely through and journaled within casing 2. The end of shaft 52 opposite worm wheel 6| is provided with a pinion 63 which in turn meshes with spur gear 64 mounted on transverse shafts 66, said shafts 66 likewise being journaled within casing I2. To shafts 65 is keyed a pair of crank links 61 which act in the nature of a crank. Extending between links 6? is a pin 68 horizontally and transversely disposed. Said pin 68 is received in connecting rod 69, said connecting rod 69 being formed with a cap H held in position about pin 68 by screws 12. The opposite end of connecting rod 69 is bifurcated, as indicated by reference numeral 13, and between bifurcations 'I3 is received the reduced upper end 54 of lever 43. Pin I4 passes through end 54 and bifurcations l3, linking the same together. It will be understood that suitable bushings or sleeves are interposed between shaft 46, pin 68 and pin 14 and the respective links receiving same.

As electric motor I9 revolves, worm 59 is like wise caused to revolve, which turns worm wheel 6|, pinion 63 and spur gear 54. The gear ratios are such that a considerable speed reduction is effected by reason of the fact that the driving gears are smaller than the driven gears. Gear 64 causes shaft 66 to revolve, which motion is transmitted through crank link 61 to pin 68 and said motion is in turn transmitted through connecting rod 69 to pin 14 fixed to lever 43. As shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 4 as shaft 66 revolves, lever 43 is rocked about cradle 52 as a fulcrum as has been heretofore described.

Provision is also made for adjustment of the stroke of shoe 4|. Thus at the toe of easing |2 an opening 8|, is provided, said opening receiving ball or roller 82 on the outer end of rod 83. Rod 33 may be caused to project or retract by mechanism hereinafter described. In its retracted position ball 82 merges with the curvature of arcuate surface M as shown in Fig. 3 and in its projected position ball 82 projects above said surface H! as shown in Fig. 4. Projection of pin 83, which is received and journaled within casing 56, and extends out through the back of said casing l6, is accomplished by movement of hell crank lever 9| attached to the rearward end of rod 31-. The intermediate portion of bell crank lever Qi is pivotally mounted on casing |2 and the opposite end is pivotally connected to link 9?. extending up handle II, the upper end of link 92 being pivotally connected to handle 93 mounted on said handle I! and adjustably held in a plurality of positions by a spring pressed detent (not shown) engageable with notches in arcuate rack 94 on said handle II.

In order to move ball 82 from the retracted position shown in Fig. 3 to the protracted posi tion shown in Fig. 4, the operator pulls handle 93 upward and said motion is transmitted by means of the linkages herebefore described in such manner as to project ball 82. Similarly, to retract ball 82, handle 33 is moved from the upper position shown in Fig. 1 in a counter clockwise direction, which said motion is transmitted to said linkages to retract rod 83. It will be understood that handle 33 may be adjusted in a plurality of positions by means of rack 94, thereby fixing ball 82 in a corresponding plurality of positions. When ball 52 is projected, shoe 4| performs no effective work on wheel it for the initial portion of its outward stroke. Thus a shorter effective stroke of shoe 4! is provided, and more power is transmitted to shoe 4! although the stroke is the same. Thus, assumin that a car to be moved is fully loaded, ball 82 is projected to nearly the outer extremity of its movement, thereby getting maximum power and lesser speed. After the inertia of the car has been overcome, the operator may readjust handle 93 so as partially to retract ball 82 and increase the speed of movement of the car. On the other hand, if the car is empty, ball 82 may be at least partially retracted at the commencement of operation.

Operation In order to transport the device to the car to be moved, hand grip 35 is elevated to the position shown in Fig. 1 in dotted lines, and this causes wheels 2% to be lowered. Electric plug 22 is connected to a convenient outlet box and thereupon electric cord 23 is unwound from reel [8 as may be required. The operator then depresses hand grip 3% to the full line position shown in Fig. 1, thereby elevating wheels 26 and causing the undersurface l3 and particularly the serrated block it to engage rail II on which the wheel it of the car rests. The device is pushed under the wheel l8 as far as possible as shown in Fig. 1. The operator adjusts handle 93 depending upon the load condition of the car-i. e., i

if the car is heavy, ball 32 is projected and if the car is light, said ball is partially retracted. Switch 25 is turned on which causes motor l9 to operate. Electric motor !-9 causes shoe 41 to push against the underside of the car wheel as lever 43 is caused to rock about cradle 52. The operator pushes against handle I! to keep the device in contact with wheel l0 and hence as shoe 4| reciprocates through opening 42 strokes are imparted to wheel ii! causing the same to revolve in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1. As the inertia of the car is overcome handle 93 may be adjusted for longer effective strokes by retracting ball 82. The device is thus pushed along, following the car as it moves down the track to the desired location. When the desired location is reached, switch 2| is turned off, the plug 22 is disconnected from the outlet box and the electric cord 23 rewound on reel [8. Hand grip 36 is raised to the position shown in Fig. 1 in dotted lines, thereby lowering wheels 26 and enabling the operator to move the device to another location.

It will further be seen that the apparatus may be used as a jack by causing shoe 4| to elevate the object to be raised and inserting shims under the object between strokes of shoe 4!.

Although I have described my invention in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A car mover comprising a casing having a rail-engaging surface and an arcu-ate surface conforming to the curvature of a car wheel, said arcuate surface having a first aperture, a, shoe shaped to engage a car wheel, said shoe being projectable through said first aperture, a rocking lever mounted in said casing, a spheroidal-convex fulcrum formed on said rocking lever intermediate the ends thereof, a spheroidal-concave cradle bearing receiving said fulcrum, said cradle bearing being fixed in said casing, the end of said rocking lever having a spherically shaped bearing surface adjacent said shoe, said shoe having a concave socket complementary to said end and receiving said end, said shoe being apertured in a direction normal to said spherical end, a screw fastener passing through the aperture in said shoe and being retained by said lever, the diameter of said screw being less than that of said aperture to permit said shoe to conform to the configuration of said car wheel, a prime mover, and means articulately connecting said prime mover to the end of said rocking lever opposite said spherical end to rock said rocking lever about said cradle bearing as a fulcrum and project and retract said shoe in a direction substantially normal to said arcuate surface.

I 2; A car mover comprising a casing having a flat; bottom, rail-engaging surface and an arouate surface" having two openings, a shoe projectable through one opening in said arcuate surface, means for imparting motion to said shoe to project and retract said shoe in strokes of equal amplitude, a protuberance projectable through the second opening in said arcuate sur face, said protuberance being positioned and arranged to limit the minimum proximity of said second surface to the wheel to be moved, and means on said car mover for manually adjusting the length of projection of said protuberance to a fixed distance of projection relative to said casing and holding the protuberance in such position, said protuberance being fixed in position once adjusted until further adjustment thereof is made manually, said protuberance when adjusted regulating the eifective length of stroke of said shoe and the ratio of power to the amplitude of stroke.

3. A car mover comprising a casing having a fiat, bottom, rail-engaging surface and a second surface having two openings, a shoe projectable through one opening in said second surface, means for imparting motion to said shoe to project and retract said shoe in strokes of equal amplitude, a protuberance projectable through the second opening in said second surface, said protuberance being positioned and arranged to limit the minimum proximity of said second surface to the wheel to be moved, and means on said car mover for manually adjusting the length of projection of said protuberance to a fixed distance of projection relative to said casing and holding the protuberance in such position, said protuberance being fixed in position once adjusted until further adjustment thereof is made manually, said protuberance when adjusted regulating the effective length of stroke to said shoe and the ratio of power to the amplitude of stroke.

4. A car mover comprising a casing having a rail-engaging surface and an arcuate surface conforming to the curvature of a car wheel, said arcuate surface having a first aperture, a shoe shaped to engage a car wheel, said shoe being projectable through said first aperture, a rocking lever mounted in said casing, a spheroidalconvex fulcrum formed on said rocking lever intermediate the ends thereof, a spheroidal-concave cradle bearing receiving said fulcrum, said cradle bearing being fixed in said casing, the end of said rocking lever having a spherically shaped bearing surface adjacent said shoe, said shoe having a concave socket complementry to said end and receiving said end, said shoe being apertured in a direction normal to said spherical end, a screw fastener passing through the aperture in said shoe and being retained by said lever, the diameter of said screw being less than that of said aperture to permit said shoe to conform to the configuration of said car wheel, a prime mover, means articulately connecting said prime mover to the end of said rocking lever opposite said spherical end to rock said rocking lever about said cradle bearing as a fulcrum and project and retract said shoe in a direction substantially normal to said arcuate surface, said arcuate surface having a second aperture, a protuberance horizontally projectable through said second aperture in said arcuate surface, and means on said car mover manually operable to adjust the length of projection of said protuberance to a fixed distance of projection relative to said casing and hold the protuberance in such position, said protuberance being fixed to position once adjusted until further adjustment thereof is made manually, said protuberance when adjusted regulating the effective length of stroke of said shoe and the ratio of power to amplitude of stroke.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 171,896 Wilber Jan. 4, 1876 322,536 Fuller July 21, 1885 650,338 Pearson May 22, 1900 738,086 Trott et a1 Sept. 1, 1903 1,167,660 Rolph Jan. 11, 1916 1,994,530 Miehe Mar. 19, 1935 2,424,631 Pierce July 29, 1947 

